Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack vs HESA Ababil

Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack — licensed reference photograph

ADrones & UAVs

Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack

Unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle

Credit

Lance Cpl. Rhita Daniel · Public domain · Resized · Public domain · Source ↗ · Modified

HESA Ababil — licensed reference photograph

BDrones & UAVs

Ababil-1 : Loitering munition Ababil-2 Ababil-B : Target drone Ababil-S : Surveillance and reconnaissance Qasef-1 : Loitering munition Ababil-3 , Ababil-4 and Ababil-5 : Surveillance and reconnaissanc

Credit

Frode Bjorshol · CC BY 2.0 · Resized · CC BY 2.0 · Source ↗ · Modified

First system

Second system

At a glance

Side by side

Length comparisonOne shared metre scale

Boeing Insitu RQ-21 BlackjackLength

2.5 m

Length source ↗

HESA AbabilAbabil-2 · Length

2.88 m

Length source ↗

Lengths retain their source configuration and measurement scope.

Measured figures

Head to head

15 of 30 rows sourced on both sides

2.5m

2.88mAbabil-2 · Length

Length

All recorded figures & sources

2.5 m

Length

Single source

2.5 m

RQ-21A · Length

Single source

8.2 ft (2.5 m)^[source]

8.2 ft / 2.5 m^[source]

2.88 m

Ababil-2 · Length

Single source

2.88 m (9 ft 5 in)^[source]

4.9m

3.25mAbabil-2 · Wingspan

Wingspan

All recorded figures & sources

4.8 m

RQ-21A · Wingspan

Single source

4.9 m

Wingspan

Single source

16 ft (4.9 m)^[source]

15.7 ft / 4.8 m^[source]

3.25 m

Ababil-2 · Wingspan

Single source

3.25 m (10 ft 8 in)^[source]

—

910mmAbabil-2 · Height

Height

All recorded figures & sources

0.91 m

Ababil-2 · Height

Single source

0.91 m (3 ft 0 in)^[source]

61kgMaximum take-off; Max takeoff weight

83kg

MassScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

37 kg

Empty; Empty weight

Single source

61 kg

Maximum take-off; Max takeoff weight

Single source

61 kg

Maximum take-off; RQ-21A · Max takeoff weight

Single source

81 lb (37 kg)^[source]

135 lb (61 kg)^[source]

135 lb / 61 kg^[source]

30 kg

Empty; Ababil-2 · approx

Single source

83 kg

Maximum take-off; Ababil-2 · Max takeoff weight

Single source

170km/hMaximum; Maximum speed

370km/hMaximum; Ababil-2 · in level flight

SpeedScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

100 km/h

Cruise; Cruise speed

Single source

111.12 km/h

Cruise; RQ-21A · Cruise speed

Manufacturer claim

170 km/h

Maximum; Maximum speed

Single source

100 mph (170 km/h, 90 kn)^[source]

63 mph (100 km/h, 55 kn)^[source]

90+ knots / 46.3 m/s^[source]

60 knots^[source]

250–305 km/h

Cruise; Ababil-2 · Cruise speed

Single source

370 km/h

Maximum; Ababil-2 · in level flight

Single source

93km

—

Range

All recorded figures & sources

93 km

Range

Single source

58 mi (93 km, 50 nmi)^[source]

—

120kmAbabil-2 · Combat range

Combat radius

All recorded figures & sources

120 km

Ababil-2 · Combat range

Single source

120 km (75 mi, 65 nmi)^[source]

6kW1 × EFI Piston Engine

19kW

PowerScopes differ

All recorded figures & sources

6 kW

1 × EFI Piston Engine

Single source

5.965599 kW

RQ-21A · reciprocating engine with EFI; JP-5, JP-8

Manufacturer claim

1 × EFI Piston Engine, 8 hp (6.0 kW)^[source]

8 HP reciprocating engine with EFI; JP-5, JP-8^[source]

19 kW

Ababil-2 · 1 × WAE-342 twin-cylinder piston engine

Single source

1 × WAE-342 twin-cylinder piston engine, 19 kW (25 hp)^[source]

16h

1 ¼ – 2 hr

Endurance

All recorded figures & sources

16 h

Endurance

Single source

16 hours^[source]

Up to 16 hours^[source]

1 ¼ – 2 hr^[source]

5,900m

3,000mAbabil-2 · or higher

Service ceiling

All recorded figures & sources

5,900 m

Service ceiling

Single source

19,500 ft (5,900 m)^[source]

up to 20,000 ft / 6,096 m^[source]

3,000 m

Ababil-2 · or higher

Single source

3,000 m (9,800 ft) or higher^[source]

18kgRQ-21A Blackjack; Design section

—

Payload

All recorded figures & sources

18 kg

RQ-21A Blackjack; Design section

Single source

17.7 kg

RQ-21A · Maximum payload · *Reduces endurance

Manufacturer claim

39 lb (18 kg) payload^[source]RQ-21A Blackjack; Design section

39 lb / 17.7 kg^[source]

—

1.8m²Ababil-2 · Wing area

Wing area

All recorded figures & sources

1.76 m²

Ababil-2 · Wing area

Single source

1.76 m 2 (18.9 sq ft)^[source]

Bars compare reported quantities only. A larger figure does not make a system better; configurations and test conditions differ.

Configuration

Details

Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack and HESA Ababil configuration
Specification	Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack	HESA Ababil
Crew	—	none^[source]
Type	Unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle^[source]	Ababil-1 : Loitering munition Ababil-2 Ababil-B : Target drone Ababil-S : Surveillance and reconnaissance Qasef-1 : Loitering munition Ababil-3 , Ababil-4 and Ababil-5 : Surveillance and reconnaissance Armed variant: Combat drone^[source]
National origin	United States^[source]	Iran^[source]
Manufacturer	Insitu wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing Defense, Space & Security^[source]	HESA Isfahan factory Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (Ababil-3)^[source]
Status	In service^[source]	In service^[source]
Primary users	United States Marine Corps United States Navy Australian Army^[source]	—
Number built	109 systems with 5 air vehicles each (estimated through FY2017)^[source]	Unknown (Hundreds)^[source]
Introduction date	April 2014^[source]	disputed^[source]
First flight	28 July 2012^[source]	1986^[source]
Developed from	Boeing Insitu ScanEagle^[source]	—
Propellers	2-bladed^[source]	2-bladed^[source]
Designer	—	Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company^[source]
Primary user	—	Iran Iraq Sudan Syria (Historical)^[source]
Manufactured	—	1980s–present^[source]
Capacity	—	40 kg payload^[source]
Fuel capacity	—	16 liters^[source]
Reported operators	—	Reported operator · Iran Reported operator · Iraq

FORCETALLY

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Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack

HESA Ababil

Crew

—

none^[source]

Type

Unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance aerial vehicle^[source]

National origin

United States^[source]

Iran^[source]

Manufacturer

Insitu wholly owned subsidiary of Boeing Defense, Space & Security^[source]

HESA Isfahan factory Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (Ababil-3)^[source]

Status

In service^[source]

Primary users

United States Marine Corps United States Navy Australian Army^[source]

—

Number built

109 systems with 5 air vehicles each (estimated through FY2017)^[source]

Unknown (Hundreds)^[source]

Introduction date

April 2014^[source]

disputed^[source]

First flight

28 July 2012^[source]

1986^[source]

Developed from

Boeing Insitu ScanEagle^[source]

—

Propellers

2-bladed^[source]

Designer

—

Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company^[source]

Primary user

—

Iran Iraq Sudan Syria (Historical)^[source]

Manufactured

—

1980s–present^[source]

Capacity

—

40 kg payload^[source]

Fuel capacity

—

16 liters^[source]

Reported operators

—

Reported operator · Iran
Reported operator · Iraq